SKUBB Portable Baby Bed

Materials: SKUBB Storage case

Description: My wife and I had been looking around for a baby bed that can be placed on the window ledge of our bedroom so that our newborn can sleep with us at night. Sleeping on our bed is a dangerous preposition as I tend to roll around in my sleep. The playpen that was placed in the baby’s room would make walking around our bedroom really squeezy if placed there.

One day while walking around IKEA, we came across the Skubb storage box. Voila! We found our solution! To DIY our baby bed, we took a playpen size mattress and cut it to the same size as the Skubb we bought. Then we fit the mattress cover over the resize mattress and place it inside the Skubb and we got a portable baby bed.

Best thing about this DIY bed is it’s light and small so we can carry it and place on our sofa when we wanna monitor our baby at the living room while she sleep.

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The Author

Jules IKEAHacker "I am Jules, the engine behind IKEAHackers and the one who keeps this site up and running. My mission is to capture all the wonderful, inspiring, clever hacks and ideas for our much loved IKEA items".

40 Responses to SKUBB Portable Baby Bed

I love this idea! I only wonder how it would hold up to wigglers with its soft sides. My little one is usually 90-180 degrees from where we place him, and that was before he could even turn onto his side. If not for bumpers his legs would’ve been sticking out of the crib most days! And yes, bumpers are safe, it depends on your child’s habits. A firm mattress is needed as well, babies don’t know to move their heads up or to the side when they can’t breathe. I’ll be looking for firm foam and a similar container. Thank you for this hack!

Not meant to be rude. But the portable bed on window sill is definitely dangerous. Little babies can move a little towards the other side and the portable bed will topple since it is very light and babies may land face down on the adult bed and suffocate. There is no guarantee that in event the baby is strong enough to move the portable bed, he or she will land on the adult bed. The baby may end up on the floor! Deadly. Here is a real life accident of a how easily baby can end up with an accident. In this case, the baby suffocated in 15 mins.

2. Sleeping in a bed with certain parents could be dangerous. Parents have been known to accidental smoother and squash their offspring. Look it up.

3. Babies have been known to sleep in drawers (open ones not closed, I feel I must point out for those of you out there that aren’t able to use your heads) back in the day. It is a small wonder the human race survived so long without other people making “Safe” things for us to use………..oh yeah, it was called population control. Natures way of thinning the herd. Only the strong survive!

Being from the states aside, that thing looks HAPHAZARD. Like it would be okay on the floor maybe or on the sofa while you’re watching, but it’s partway hanging off that window sill! I don’t even have children so I don’t have insane mommy brain either, just logic.

I love the photo of your baby! Those limbs all over the place make me think you might have a live-wire on your hands. I’ve got two of those now in elementary school. Enjoy! And I think this is a *great* hack.

Wow, I thought this hack was ingenious, and it’s sad how everyone feels the need to give their safety concerns, which I believe most come from people in the states (no offense, I also live in the states). The biggest issues with recalls and SIDS occur most of the time in the states. We are all so terrfied of everything here. In countries all around the world, families spend a good time in families beds and sleeping in various places and positions, and this has been done for centuries. Here in the states we put scare into everything, and even state that the family bed is unsafe. All cultures have their own traditions and what they find safe and unsafe, please keep those comments to yourself.

I am not saying that I would not personally make some additions/subtractions from the above if I decided to use this idea but getting on a high horse and telling other people what they should be doing is offensive in general and in regard to SIDS it is really questionable advice. All current North American recommendations are made solely on correlative data. As any etiologist would tell you Correlation does not = Causation. Current recommendations may change substantially or be fully scrapped in the future especially once the cause(s)is discovered. When studying etiology my favorite example was of a prof that yearly challenged his class to make ludicrous conclusions from population stat reports & one of the years you could make an excellent argument that buying a VCR gave you AIDS.

A link to SIDS is not relevant anyway because the issue with the pillows would be suffocation. There is NO known cause of SIDS just a handful of things you can do to improve the odds like sleep sharing and putting the baby on its back, both of which I see the original poster doing. Now that the pillow issue is cleared up I think it looks great!People do have to remember that different parts of the world parent babies differently and recommendations are always changing.

Wow, I think the safety stuff was worth stating but was probably overstated. My youngest is 18 and she was put to bed with bumpers, blankets, toys and I put her on her stomach. That was protocol back then. I also slept with one eye open and mothers ”should” still sleep with one eye open. My husband is an airline pilot and he loves to say, “There is no substitute for vigilance. ” (I don’t know who said it first). But it is true.

I love this! My baby had no bumper but had pillows and blankets, it was minus 2 outside snowing he she was snug as a bug!!! Some people r so freakin rude, u do what is right for you and your baby! U… U.. No best!! This is sweet!!!

The only judgmental comments I’ve seen on this are the ones that have somehow say you can’t comment on the safety of a hack. Should we just have commented on the prettyness of the pillows (it seems the hacker was unaware of the pillow issue- and has made adjustments following the advice of fellow hackers)? Also disappointed that ikeahackers removed the link to the SIDS site- links to businesses and spam seem to be ok to stay on this site- but not links to a legitimate health issue?

BevS97 Just followed the link. You are correct, the travel bassinet seems very similar to this, except for the price of $80. With regard to the five billionth anonymous’s objections: yep, pillows were discussed separately; however, where the user places a travel bassinet or how frequently they use it is not stipulated in the product information on the travel bassinet link I found. I’m sure they have a billion warnings (Diapers come with warnings, and I don’t know how much packaging I’ve thrown away with admonitions not to put your baby in plastic bags) all of which is to say that the parents need to watch their kid. Nothing is ever 100% safe. Babies die of SIDS in cribs that are tested to the best of everyone’s abilities. That’s life. Bringing up concerns that may not have been considered is great. Bashing parents and implying that they’re going to leave their kid poised on the edge of a cliff and walk away, Really? I hope we aren’t putting off people who might make marvelous contributions to future hacks because we’re so critical and judgmental.

As mentioned in the description, this was meant for newborn. The side walls at this point in time are able to support the weight of our baby. We tested it and were satisfied before using it. We do not intend to let our baby sleep in it once her weight allows her to roll over the side walls. We are aware of the possibility that the bed might flip over if place on a small supporting surface. The width of my window ledge is 50cm and I am pretty sure the Skubb (55cm) will not flip over. Nonetheless I placed the skubb next to my bed, which is about the same height as my ledge, to be on the safe side. The width of the couch in my house is much wider than the skubb so it’s very stable when placed there. I know cause I live there. And like I said, the reason we put it there is to watch over her.

The reason I post this was to share with other parents on the possibility of using the skubb as a baby bed in a SAFE way. It is the responsibility of the parents who wanted to adopt the idea to make sure it is used in a safe way. Like what Zulaya said, this hack works for us in our situation.

Lastly we have taken note of the feedback on the pillows. Thanks again for the positive comments everyone.

I thought this was a very cute hack. Yes, I also had a few concerns about overbalancing, but the parents are probably monitoring the situation and are better able to judge than we are. Also, they specifically said “newborn,” which is the age at which I used a cradle for my youngest child. Would a cradle be safe once an infant was able to roll over? NO WAY! Is a cradle safe for a newborn? Sure. Context matters, and we don’t have enough to second guess the parents.

Having said that, I think it’s good that people voiced concerns in case new parents hadn’t considered some aspect of safety that might be relevant. I applaud Kelly, Kathleen, and Cecile for their comments. I am often skeptical of “anonymous” commentators.

Also, lets try not to cross the line between helpful and bashing new parents and/or new hackers (I hope that they weren’t looking for anonymous’s approval, I certainly wouldn’t lose sleep over disappointing you).

Parenting, in my experience with 3 children, none of whom has died yet (and one’s in college, so I have great hopes for his continued survival), parenting is all about figuring out what works for a particular family in a particular situation.

Big, big differences between this and a travel crib…Travel crib isn’t intended for everyday use- less time in the crib = less risk.Travel crib doesn’t have bumpers and pillows- all choking hazards.I’m assuming the travel crib would be put on the floor or in the centre of a bed- not on a ledge or couch.

Ikea Hacker, you disappoint me. This hack is dangerous. The baby can roll over and flip the entire bed on themselves. If the ledge were even with the bed, this would be safe, but as is it is not. The added idea that this could be used on a couch is even worse. If the baby tips on the couch they are falling a considerable distance for a little baby. This would be safe on a floor, but putting something that can tip on an elevated surface is not safe. This can be made safe by properly securing it to the ledge. Please have a little quality control and add some obvious safety disclaimer/information when appropriate.

Keeping a baby close to its parents is optimal for both attachment and safety. I think this is a great hack, far better than leaving a baby alone in a separate room! However, yes lose the pillows and bumpers.

This bed does scream dangerous to me and I’d never do it. Having said that, regualtions do vary in different countries and yes, it’s not nice to bag parents out about their parenting choices (although I could argue that it’s probably never safe to sleep a baby on a window ledge. The baby would probably be safer in the bed with the parents). What I will say though is that the IKEA hacker site should probably have some sort of disclaimer stating that the safetly of the bed hasn’t been tested and that parents should check with the relevant information sources in their country about the recommended way to sleep their child. Where I live the parents could easily find themselves reported to the authorities for sleeping their child like that…

Hi, different anonymous here: “most crib designs go through extensive testing…” Turns out the one I bought for my son did too, but then it was recalled just as he grew out of it. Nothing is or will be perfect and even with so called “strict regulations” I find 90% of the time: Parents know best for their child.

Sometimes people need to be told what to do. Turns out, most crib designs go through an extensive review process as well as testing to ensure the child’s safety. The fact that the author did not find any similar model retailing probably means that the proposed design did not meet the regulations (which are intended to keep your child alive, not take away your liberties).

I don’t think people here are lecturing the author but just pointing out some things that he may not have thought about. It is also a way of making this bed better. And I guess the safety of their baby is of some interest for them…

Just thought I’d add – since this is IKEAHackers – that in Sweden, baby pillows are recommended and used from birth by the health profession and midwives. Different advice is given in different countries. I’m sure once baby can turn over the parents will find another sleeping option.

Can we please stop telling people what to do here?the fact that the family did this to keep the child safe makes it obvious that they have thought of that.*rolling eyes* Excessive use for anything is bad:but really? I used a pillow when he was stuffy, blankets cuz he slept better and stuffy’s-he’s four and just fine. A friend of mine put it well when I was freaking out about not having a crib ready: he was in Serbia during the war and he said his little brother slept in a drawer. What I wish people would take more seriously is the chemicals they use in their everyday lives that cause long-term health problems and cancer.

I just HAVE to point out that anything in a baby sleeping area poses a suffocation hazard. Babies should never sleep with pillows, stuffed animals, bumper pads or even blankets. The safest place for a baby to sleep is in a crib of it’s own, dressed warmly enough that no heavy blankets are necessary. (They never keep them on anyway!) Safety first!

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